A Christmas Meditation

Another Christmas come and gone... This year seemed more about the right things, family, friends, and the Birth and less about malls and running around.  

Throughout it all, I worked on my sock. (My first!)  The saying "pride cometh before the fall" could not be more accurate.  I was filled with self congratulations on how well things were going and how far I had gone without a single mistake.  That was about the time I glanced down- way down- and noticed a slipped stitch that made a huge hole in what I thought was my perfect sock.  I tried to pick it up with the crochet hook and somehow things just did not look right.  You guessed it:  I ended up ripping it.  Ugh!

I'm heading to my home in South Florida for a few days.  I'm looking forward to poking around old haunts, spending time with old friends and  - YES! - checking out South Florida yarn stores.

I wanted to include a picture of my dog Cheyenne, who it seems, also has yarn lust.  She now grabs a ball of yarn out of one of my baskets to cuddle with during her afternoon nap.

Oh the shame...

Have you heard of Ravelry? "It's a place for knitters, crocheters, designers, spinners and dyers to keep track of their yarn, tools and pattern information and look to other for ideas and inspiration."

It is community driven and a great place to show off your projects, blog, and socialize.

I heard about this site and immediately put myself on the waiting list (yes, I said waiting list).

Ravelry is in beta and so they are inviting people in bits and pieces so they can grow at a rate they can support.

Naturally, when I received my invitation, I was excited.  Over the last few weeks I've been checking out the various tools on the site, like the My Notebook section that includes projects, your inventory of needles and hooks, patterns, favorites and yes, your stash inventory.

I decided to start with cataloging my stash which,  to this point, has lived an anonymous existence in several strategically placed baskets.  Let me say that the baskets are cleverly crafted to appear a normal size but are nearly bottomless upon closer inspection.  

I have managed to catalog about half of my stash and was struck by how much yarn I have.  I had no idea.  Really!

When I had spread the contents of each basket on the floor I realized:  I have a yarn "issue".  I am addicted to yarn. And my stash is larger than a reasonable knitter could use in several years time.  And I know I am not alone.

Yesterday I clicked on the Mochimochi blog and immediately felt better.  The World’s Biggest Stash? at Mochimochi Blog.  

Now THAT is a huge stash.  Having seen that, I think I have plenty of room for some new and delicious colors and fibers!

Knitter Nirvana

What a great knitting week.  Well, not in terms of actual production, but when measured by exposure to knitting it was stellar!  I was on a business trip this week in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and had an opportunity to visit Knitting Up a Storm.  Although a little tricky to find, I was rewarded with a great yarn store.  I was killing time before the flight home and thought that poking around a knitting shop would be the perfect way to pass the time.   They have a large yarn selection and a huge section in the back of yarn on sale.  I stocked up on some fabulous Louisa Harding Sari Ribbon at half price!  I also find some beautiful dark gray OnLine Jeans and incredibly soft and yummy Snowflake by Sirdar, all at 50% off.  I then settled in to go through all the boxes of back issues of knitting magazines.  I then wandered through their extensive book selection and needle inventory.  

I then had the presence of mind to take a look at my watch and realize that it was 3:20 and I was scheduled for a 4:15 departure.  You can guess the rest.  I missed my plane...BUT I had plenty knitting supplies and magazines to keep me happy while I waited two hours for the next plane to take me home.

Saturday, I headed to Tampa to Knit and Knibble with friends to spend the day knitting.  This is a thoroughly delightful knitting shop with all the right elements.  A great yarn selection, comfortable places to spread out with your projects, and a group of terrific knitters.  There is a full class schedule and clinic hours where you can get help on your specific projects.  But the regulars are so generous with help as well.  The shop has a cafe with great coffees and desserts so that hunger doesn't interfere.

I worked most of the day learning to make socks.  I'm excited to get this down.  Socks are the perfect project to travel with.

So, as predicted, more yarn purchases, needle purchases, etc.

I spent Sunday morning exploring the Ravelry website.

I started entering my stash inventory into my Ravelry notebook.  I think until this morning I had been able to deceive myself about the actual amount of yarn I had amassed.  No more.  There is no denying the extent of the addiction.  Thankfully I know so many of you are similarly afflicted and doubtless many of you have inventories that exceed mine, so I can then feel a little more virtuous...